Quincy YMCA shuts down old facility; will open new site Oct. 31

Friday

Sep 13, 2013 at 12:01 AMSep 13, 2013 at 1:09 PM

The South Shore YMCA announced Thursday it will not re-open its damaged facility at 79 Coddington Street, effectively shutting down a building that has served the community since the 1950s. Instead, the nonprofit will wait to debut its new $30 million facility next door on Coddington Street, tentatively set to open Oct. 31.

Patrick Ronan

The Y announced Thursday it will not reopen its damaged facility at 79 Coddington St., effectively shutting down a building that has served the community since the 1950s. Instead, the nonprofit will wait to debut its new $30 million facility next door on Coddington Street, tentatively set to open Oct. 31.

Officials initially announced it would re-open this Sunday, but after meeting with engineering consultants and insurance adjusters, South Shore YMCA president Paul Gorman said Thursday night that the water damage would have required four weeks of work to replace and repair.

“To throw any good money after bad would make no sense at all,” Gorman said.

The Quincy Y, which has about 11,000 members, closed abruptly on Sept. 3 after a broken water main flooded the basement, damaging the building’s electrical and ventilation systems.

Gorman said the water main burst because of a badly rusted clamp.

“This could have happened at any time,” he added.

As a result of the closure, Gorman said the YMCA will refund the dues paid by its members that were collected through electronic transfer on Aug. 30. No additional dues will be withdrawn electronically until the new Quincy facility opens, the Y said.

The facility is already transporting its 83 preschoolers and kindergartners, plus another 11 toddlers in day care, about 13 miles away to the Emilson Branch in Hanover. Also, adult and youth members of the Quincy Y are being offered full membership to the Hanover location and all the YMCAs in the region at no additional cost.

And Gorman said the YMCA is working on a plan to offer free shuttle service from the parking lot of the Quincy branch to the Hanover site.

“It’s been a good influx to Hanover, but we understand for some people, they just don’t drive that far,” said Gorman.

Dr. Hanpu Chao, a member of the Quincy Y for the past 20 years, said he doubts many members will make the trip to Hanover.

“It’s too far away,” said Chao, who runs his pediatric practice out of an office next to the Y building.

Chao said the South Shore Y could have done a better job updating members about the closure of the building, and the status of their membership dues.

“It’s nice they are beefing up the facilities here in Quincy, but I don’t think they handled this very expeditiously,” he said.

Gorman said he knows some members are unhappy. “I hope people understand this was just something we hoped wouldn’t happen,” he said.

The Y has said it would continue paying its 370 employees, 40 of whom are full-time staffers. The flooding and its aftermath are costly to the Y, but Gorman is hoping insurance will soften some of the financial toll.

“This is going to be a serious event,” he said.

The Y workers have begun to decommission the old building, packing up belongings and assessing what can be re-used or sold, said Gorman.

Work on the new facility, expected to be 118,000 square feet, started in the spring of 2012. The two-floor facility will include an aquatic center, a larger gym, a synthetic-turf field and an indoor track.

Patriot Ledger reporter Chris Burrell contributed to this report. Patrick Ronan may be reached at pronan@ledger.com or follow him on Twitter @PRonan_Ledger.